Two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, people in London, Ont., are still buying and selling homes, one expert says, it's just happening at a lower rate.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a dramatic decrease in home sales in the region, according to the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales were down 69 per cent in the first 17 days of April compared with a year ago as the COVID-19 outbreak put a chill on market activity.

Despite the collapse in home sales activity, the national average home price was up 12.5 per cent compared to March 2019, the Canadian Real Estate Association said.

Despite the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the volume of sales in March from Revelstoke to Peachland was up by nearly five per cent from last year.

The board says there were 7,256 homes sold last month in the Toronto region through its MLS system. That compared with 4,982 in February 2019.

The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington reports 998 homes were sold in February, a 30 per cent increase compared to January.

Despite a boost in sales and tightening in supply, prices remained lower than this point last year, though showed signs of growth over the last several months.

The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington reports home sales in January jumped 18.3 per cent over December and are five per cent higher compared to the same month last year.

The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington reports 12,866 home sales last year -- up 10 per cent over 2018, despite new residential listings being slightly down.